In the conventional apparatus for saving operation instructions, which is used when cam operations and other operations are conducted in a knitting machine, there is adopted a card control system, which is one of mechanical systems. According to this system, a disc for counting cycles of the card is used in addition to the control card, and counting of the cycles is controlled based on the position of a pin on this disc. According to this system, the kinds of the cycles are limited, and in order to increase the kinds of the cycles, it is necessary to increase the length of the control card. There is also adopted an electric control system in which according to the frequency of operation instructing signals to be saved, that is, when it is desired to save many kinds of instructions, preset counters are used in a number corresponding to the number of the kinds of instructions to be saved, and marks are formed on a program sheet on mark columns corresponding to the respective preset counters to perform saving of instructions of a specific frequency. This electric control system is defective in that if it is desired to save a variety of instructions differing in the preset quantity, it is necessary to increase the number of counters or to prolong a chain or sheet according to the kinds of instructions to be saved.